Hat



May 11, 1954 R. c. LOCKHART 2,671,821

HAT

F'iled Dee. 20, 1948 nventor, Quast-L Loom-(Aer (Ittorneg Patented May1l, 1954 HAT Russell C. Lockhart, Arc

Bailey Hat a corporation of California George S. Calif.

adia, Calif., assignor to Co., Inc., Los Angeles,

Application December 20, 1948, Serial No. 66,305 2 Claims. (Cl. 2-175)esigned to be light in weight and particularly comfortable to wear, andwhich, with my invention incorporated therein, will not lose their shapeWhen in use or when stacked for sales display on counters or shelves, orwhen packed for shipping purposes.

Hats of the kind with which this invention is concerned are carefullymade, being commonly constructed with a brim tted with a crown orupstanding portion of several pieces carefully cut to pattern and sewntogether, the assembled hat being then blocked under heat and pressureto the required shape.

It has been found that because of the softness of the material used inthe manufacture of hats of this type it is diicult to pack and handlethe hats so that they retain their original smartdistorted, and therebyhave a somewhat rumpled, crushed, or used look, which detracts fromtheir smartness and gives to the customer a very unsightly appearance;and it is the particular object of my invention to provide a novelconstruction and method of making such hats that will result in theshape of the hat being retained in blocked condition, and which has notheretofore been possible with fabric hats.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved softhat by utilizing a modification of the usual method of the forming ofsuch hats, which is simple, inexpensive, and involves no substantialvariation of the present practice of manufacture thereof, so that theskill of the operators accustomed to the present practice may be availedof.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel hat of the kinddescribed which, although providing a hat having improvedcharacteristics, is relatively inexpensive to produce, and which willretain its blocked shape during shipping, display and use.

A still further object of my invention is to produce a novel andimproved hat of the kind made from relatively soft cloth or similarexible and pliable material, and which will hold its shape and may bereblocked to another shape with equally satisfactory results.

The invention includes the finished structure, as well as the method ofconstructing the same, and the parts and combination of partshereinafter described and claimed.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appeal` from theaccompanying drawing, the subjoined detail description, and the appendedclaims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention in a form I atpresent deem preferable.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hat constructed in accordance withmy invention, and incorporating my new andnovel features therewith.

Fig. 2 is a fragment plane indicated by line in the direction of theFig. 3 is a 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig.V 4 is a fragmentary view of the top section of the front of thecrown of the hat, illustrating my novel combination of a plastic stripassociated therewith.

In the drawing the numeral I D indicates the brim of a hat A and I2indicates generally the crown of the hat, which is preferably formed byfour sections I4 thereof being sewn together and to the brim I0 of thehat, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3.

In Fig. 3, one crown section I4 is shown sewn to an adjacent section I4'by stitching at the seam I8 which runs along a line spaced inwardly ofthe edges of the sections, these edges being laid back against theinside of the sections and sewn thereto by stitching 20.

I have discovered that the shape of the front ary sectional view on a2-2, Fig. l, and looking arrows.

fragmentary sectional view on line those use l-.

The'plastic stripv of material is laid between the seam I8 and a tapemember '22 that is secured to the inside of the crown by the stitching20 and which tape member 22 extends along the seam I8 to both retain thestrip 24 in position and also reinforce the seam throughout its lengthfrom the front to the rear of the crown,

the seam I3 of the hat around the base of the crown also includes asweatband 28 sewn around its lower edge to the edge of the head openingof the brim, and usually also includes an ornamental band 30 around theoutside and at the bottom of the crown, so that the junction of thecrown and brim is provided with a substantial foundation.

The strip 24 of plastic material is of a length sufficient to extendupwardly from the lower edge of chamber a adjacent the brim b, asufficient distance beyond the line of the usual forward upper edge bendof the crown l2, as indicated at 32 to securely hold the desiredcurvature at this point as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, while the fullheight of the crown is maintained by the height of the strip 24, that ispositioned in chamber a and extends upwardly therein from the brim b tothe front edge bend 32 of crown l2 and at which bend or point 32 thestrip 24 is bent by heat and pressure during blocking of the crown, to`conform to the block of the hat crown, and extends rearwardly therefroma short distance to maintain the forward edge 32 of the crown in thedesired and blocked contour.

Blocking the hats under suitable temperatures, preferably about 150 F.,and applying considerable pressure to the hat during blocking operation,will soften the strip 24 and accurately bend the plastic strip 24 to therequired shape of the blocking form without causing the strip tofuse tothe material of the crown, and when the plastic is cooled it will holdits shape indenitely in its deformed contour corresponding to the blockof the hat crown; but when again heated to the softening point, as whenreblocking the hat, the plastic will lose its formed shape and may bemolded or bent under heat and pressure to any other shape, andthereafter will hold such deformed or blocked shape after the same iscool.

It will be noted that the methd of stiffening the front of the hatinvolves only a slight deviation from the usual procedure by theoperator merely inserting a plastic strip 24 of the desired length andabove described character, in the chamber a, during stitching of thetape member 22 to the crown over the seam I8, while neverthelessproducing a much improved hat. Operators can therefore turn outapproximately the same quantity of the improved hat as of the kindpreviously handled, but with my novel invention incorporated therein thefront edge of the hat crown will be stiifened, and crushing ordistortion thereof prevented during shipping or stacking of such softcloth hats on counters or shelves.

The invention includes the method of inserting a plastic strip in achannel formed in the rear of the front seam I3 of the hat crown I2before blocking the hat, and which strip extends beyond and rearwardlyof the usual forward upper edge bend 32 of the hat crown, and thensubjecting the hat structure and strip 24 to temperature and pressurefor blocking purposes, and which temperature will soften strip 24 andthe pressure applied to block the hat will deform strip 24 to conform tothe type of blocking that the structure is subjected to, and such strip24 when cooled after such blocking operation will retain its deformed orblocked shape to stiffen the forward upper edge of the hat crown.

I claim:

1. A method of forming blocked hats having a brim and a crown with aforward upper edge bend, and which method comprises sewing togetherpieces of material forming the crown 0f the hat to afford a front seam;then placing a relatively long and narrow strip of thermo softeningmaterial to extend upwardly over said seam inside the crown from thebrim to a point over and beyond the line where the forward upper edgebend of the hat crown is to be formed after blocking; then blocking thecrown ofthe hat under heat and pressure to thereby also soften the stripof thermo softening material and mold said strip into the required shapeconforming to that of the blocked crown, and without destroying itsstriplike characteristics; and then allowing the strip to cool, wherebythe blocked shape of the strip will be maintained as forme 2. A blockedhat having a brim and a crown formed of relatively pliable pieces ofmaterial stitched together and including a front seam, the crown beingsecured to the brim and when blocked providing an upper edge bendaroundthe crown; a strip of thermo softening material positioned within thecrown over said front seam and extending from the brim to a point overand beyond the said upper edge bend of the crown when blocked, and whichstrip is shaped under heat and pressure to the conguration required ofsaid blocked upper edge bend and adjacent area of the crown, said stripafter being shaped retaining its strip-like characteristics; and meanssecuring said strip within the hat crown adjacent said front seam.

JReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED sTATEs PATENTS

